Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir says land ownership remains one of the biggest and most sensitive challenges facing Kenya's coastal region, pointing to long-running disputes between legal title holders and communities that have lived on the land for generations.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Monday, the governor said historical inequalities in land ownership had created tension, with many residents occupying land for decades while ownership documents are held by others.
"The number one issue that is there is land. If anyone tells you otherwise, they'll be lying to you," he said.
He argued that the gap between those who legally own land and those physically living on it has been a source of frustration for many years.
"We actually have one of the lowest proportions in terms of who actually owns the land vis-a-vis those who are actually at that land itself," he said.
Land disputes have remained a recurring issue at the Coast, where historical grievances involving absentee landlords, colonial-era ownership structures and disputed titles have often shaped political debate.
Governor Nassir said President William Ruto had recently stepped into efforts aimed at finding a practical solution, including discussions with individuals holding title documents over disputed land.
According to the governor, the president sought to address situations where court rulings may have recognised ownership claims, but the land itself had long been settled by local communities.
"The president sat down with these people and told them, look, you might have a piece of property on paper, but no one was there," he said.
Nassir questioned the viability of removing established communities from such land, warning that large-scale evictions could trigger serious consequences.
"How do you go and remove 1,000 houses? How do you go and demolish 1,000 houses? Does that really make sense?" he said.
He added that beyond political consequences, forced displacement would also create wider economic and social problems.
"Can you imagine the impact that would cause, not even politically, but economically, socially, the level of hate that would start being built up?" he asked.
The governor said some landowners had accepted offers under the ongoing process and payments had already begun in some cases, while others were still being processed.
"Some of them have even been paid, some payments are being processed, so that the true locals can be able to get their title deeds," he said.
The Governor also defended the process against criticism, saying authorities had undertaken due diligence to determine how some ownership documents had initially been acquired.
His remarks come as government continue to address the long-running land question at the Coast with efforts including land title deed issuance and resettlement plans ongoing.
During a development tour of the region in May, President Ruto announced plans to issue more than 200,000 title deeds and pledged to address historical land injustices affecting communities in Mombasa and other coastal counties.